Tesla fires back over Consumer Reports 'undriveable' Model S

The company argues that the Model S could\'ve been driven any distance, despite a defective door handle.

Tesla Motors has fired back after Consumer Reports complained of a problem that allegedly made its Model S P85D 'undriveable' due to a door-handle problem.

The magazine claimed that a retractable handle failed to deploy, forcing the driver to crawl across from the passenger seat. More importantly, the handle issue is said to have disabled the vehicle.

In its original report, CR implied that driving functionality could only be restored for a period of two minutes via a smartphone app, limiting the travel distance. The claim was removed from the blog post after Tesla argued that the driver actually has two minutes to start the car from when the function is activated from the app, and the vehicle can then be driven indefinitely.

Responding to conjecture that a tester may not have pressed the brake pedal when attempting to start the car or shift into park, CR claimed "we're not complete idiots," according to a statement published by USA Today. "We're not backing away from 'undriveable.'"

"In instances when hardware, like the door handle, need to be replaced, we strive to make it painless for a customer to get their Model S serviced," Tesla said in a statement. "Every fix is an opportunity for us to learn and apply towards making owning a Model S a great experience."